


You Can Tell Me Anything

by LI0NH34RT



Series: School/College AU [4]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Loneliness, M/M, Thiam, University AU, call center, kind of?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:53:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23618563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LI0NH34RT/pseuds/LI0NH34RT
Summary: Everbody needs friends, right?
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Series: School/College AU [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2046062
Comments: 41
Kudos: 75





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shatteeran](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shatteeran/gifts).



> This is the longest thing I've ever wrote. And I absolutely blame you. 😁

  
“Theo!” a loud voice behind him rips Theo out of his current chat, “what the hell are you doing? You can't talk to our customers like that!”

  
He sighs. _Here we go again..._

  
It's always the same when a new guy comes in and they haven't seen him work.  
Patiently he smiles, taking a deep breath to get ready for the lengthy and by now well rehearsed monologue in which he explains his method but just when he started with his usual opener “let me show you their answer", Isaac, one of the supervisors peaks his head into Theo's cubicle. 

  
“Hey, uhm... new guy, can I talk to you for a second?”  
Theo knows that there is a reason he likes Isaac. And it's not that he also can't remember the new people's names. They never last long anyway. 

Turning back to his screen he sees that he has a new message and quickly starts typing again.

If someone had told Theo two years ago that he would end up working for ‘TalkSpace' he would have laughed. Loudly. 

  
But here he is, sitting on his desk and chatting with people, talking about their problems and offering not always practical help but mostly an open ear for listening.  
As one of the most requested coaches of the firm, new co-workers often ask him for advice – a conversation that ends with one of the managers talking to Theo in 99 percent of the cases. Isaac is the 1 percent that actually listened and understood his method, one of the reasons why he became a supervisor. 

Most people, who have never been in a self help chat, expect the counsellors to be kind and sympathetic, offering advice and support. Theo's method is... slightly different.

  
He believes into the ability that everyone can only get better or solve their problems if they really want to, so there is no sweet talking, no fake pity with him.

A ping signals another message from his current favourite dialogue partner, a guy roughly his age who calls himself Eugene. The name alone is a real problem here and Theo didn't hesitate to tell the guy in their first conversation.   
The answer was a string of laughing emojis and that's when Theo knew it was going to work.  
He types in answer to the question if he is there yet.

**Hey Eugene, how's today?**

The boy types for a long time and that is never a good sign in any situation.

**Not good. Feels like I'm drowning again**

Theo presses his lips together while he thinks about an answer. The first time Eugene has written to him was over three months ago which is a very long time by the standards of this business. Most people message ‘TalkSpace' once or twice a week, on particularly bad days and sadly some they never hear from again, so long conversations like this are rare.  
But Eugene is a special case. Having mental illnesses alone is never easy but the IED induced anger outbursts had left the boy lonely and full of self hate. The last months Theo had worked on slowly guiding him back to normalcy as the new medication finally seemed to work.

**What did I tell you about the floaties last time?**

He sends, adding a [picture](https://www.pinterest.de/pin/122512052348881455/?nic_v1=1b7peIvIVhoZmsR0ghg8EFOoQPIW7LY8ITZZiesejvhWe%2FxqssHx9AvHHfRCnbUI2d) to it.

Eugene answers quicker this time. 

😍 **I wish I was that cute while struggling...**

This is probably the point where his colleagues would have sent and encouraging message like “honey, you are! You are beautiful inside and out!”  
But Theo simply shoots back:

**Nobody is as cute as Mr. Teddy!**

Which earns a laughing emoji and then Eugene starts to talk about his day.   
He just graduated high school and is working a summer job before college starts in fall. Never mentioned where he is from or where he will be for school but that's the beauty of chatting and one of the reasons ‘TalkSpace' is so popular with troubled humans – you can be whoever you want, nobody will judge you.

Eugene sends another message.

**I talked to Mason again btw**

  
One of the guy's problems, and boy, he really has his load full in Theo's eyes, is that he doesn't have friends. Like, he once told Theo his best friend was his mum.  
A little ~~teasing~~ encouraging from Theo helped him to start an online friendship with a freshman from the university they both are about to start at. Eugene still talking to the guy is a good sign. And maybe the reason he messaged Theo fewer those last two weeks...   
A weird feeling spreads in his guts at the thought of not talking to Eugene anymore. 

Theo is very good at his job. He understands people's concerns and he connects with them which is necessary to help, help themselves but he never crossed that line between professional interest and personal concern. Because he knows that friends are not objective, they can't offer an unbiased opinion because they care.

  
Theo was also very good at not caring. Not about his customers, not about himself, not about his family. 

  
Somehow, in the last months, Eugene changed that. Slowly, with his talk about a loving mum and stepfather, his wish to just be normal and have friends.   
And this is where it starts to get dangerous.

  
Because Eugene isn't just a faceless person writing him anymore, all the little details they shared helped to form the person Theo actually looks forward talking to every night. 

He knows the struggles and challenges of starting a new college, moving to a new town and generally starting over because that had been him, last year. And he didn’t have someone to talk to either.   
So Theo took a different route, applying for the counsellor job killed two birds with one stone – he could make money, even during the semester and he had people to talk to.

**Theo? You still there?**

Oh right, no daydreaming at work. Quickly he starts typing again. 

**Yeah, sorry. Rough week. Had to plan my semester again because stuff didn’t work out.**

This is another thing they aren’t supposed to do. Two things actually. 

  
One, he told Eugene his real name. ‘TalkSpace' guidelines recommend using an alias, for simple safety reasons, but really, how many Theos are out there? 

  
Two, the talk about himself. He can almost hear his boss in his head - _don't make this about you, Theo!_ but really, who likes to chat with a person they know nothing about? Part of his own method is showing the customers that they are not the only ones with problems and that everything can be solved if they just try to.

**Ah, yeah, you are in college as well right?**   
**How is the Biology thing working out for you?**

Theo smiles and types an answer. 

  
~♤~

When he comes to work the next afternoon, the ungood feeling he's had all morning reaches new highs because next to his desk are waiting the big boss and an actually sad looking Isaac.

Turns out ‘TalkSpace' is not the safe space they advertise with because apparently all of the chats are run through a program and can be read by the higher up managers.  
“So that we can check for misuse and inappropriate texts.”

  
Which they apparently found a lot of in Theo's history. Not even his success rate or Isaac could stop him from getting fired.

But what disturbs Theo the most is that his first thought was _what is Eugene gonna think?_ while cleaning his cubicle out.  
The other boy really had become his friend and knowing this, Theo can't even be angry at his boss for crossing lines.

Having no way to reach Eugene Theo spends the last week till his courses are about to start obsessively preparing the new semester.  
He can't stop himself from thinking about the other guy though.

~♤~

Theo sighs deeply as he slumps down on one of the hard seats in the great hall. Back for another semester full of early mornings.

  
Thankfully the headmaster seems to be tired as well because he hasn't even started to turn on the beamer for his welcome presentation and so Theo pulls out his phone to mindlessly scroll through social media.   
He needs a new job after all.

A voice to his right pulls him back out of ads for barista positions and retail assistant offerings.

He lifts his head to see two guys, roughly his age, but probably freshmen, standing next to his row.  
The blond guy smiles, obviously waiting for an answer.

  
“Sorry?”

“I said: are these seats taken?” he repeats and Theo shakes his head.

  
“Great!”, the same guy says and his blue eyes sparkle with smiles as he sits down next to Theo and his friend takes the other seat.

“I am Liam, by the way, and this is Mason. Nice to meet you.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait!  
> I had a few birthdays getting in the way...  
> Enjoy!

Liam absentmindedly twists the loose string from his hoodie’s seem between his fingers, he is lost to the world and when a hand appears in front of his face, snapping, he almost falls of his chair. 

“You're Liam Dunbar?”, the man barely waits for Liam's nod until he continues, “I'm Isaac, your new boss. Come on, let's get you started.”  
While Liam hurries to get up and follow the man, who's scarf flutters behind him as he speed walks down the hallway, he wonders what he is even doing here.

It's been two months since Theo had stopped talking to him. Or well, to Eugene, really.  
Three weeks since Liam moved into his college dorm, Mason by his side.  
As the semester began he realized that a job is essential to life away from home and when he skimmed the black board, a bright green flyer with a familiar logo caught his eye. He still doesn't know what part of him is responsible for taking this offer – the one who wants to give back to the organisation that helped him live through the last high school semester; or the part that wants to talk to Theo again.

It's crazy how much you can feel for people you never met before, whose faces you have never seen. Taking to Theo had felt nice, like they had been friends for a long time – and sometimes Liam even thought the other man was flirting a little... but all that matters now is finding out what happened to Theo. And that means finding the ‘TalkSpace' branch he works for.

~♤~

**Theo, 22: Turns out colleagues are only your friends until you quit.**

Liam chuckles at the description of his very first customer. It is a crazy coincidence that this guy is also called Theo but Liam takes it for a good omen.  
After a quick tour Isaac set him up at a workstation (“Dude who sat here before you quit, so you can take over his mails.”), but it turns out that ‘Dude' deleted all of his contacts before leaving and so Liam is forced to sit idle until tech support can recover them.  
He just wants to go text Mason when Theo's contact info pops up.

Liam was told to not use his real name and so he is forced to think of a pen name; shrugging he leans forward a few seconds later and starts typing.

**Hey Theo! My name is Henry. How are you doing today? 😊**

The answer comes almost instantly and after sending a few messages back and forth Liam has the strange feeling of knowing that Theo-guy from somewhere. It's not a bad thing though because they are instantly comfortable with each other.

He is so absorbed into his conversation that Isaac has to clear his throat to get his attention before he informs him that recovering the chats could take a few days - the muttered “petty asshole" as he walks away again making Liam wonder what really happened to his predecessor – but he still chats with Theo for a while until his phone vibrates with a request from Mason to bring dinner when he comes home, a clear request to be back soon.

  
~♤~

Working for ‘TalkSpace’ is surprisingly easy for Liam. He gets up and goes to his classes in the morning, eats lunch in the cafeteria and then either goes to Lacrosse practice or takes the bus to work where he spends most afternoons.  
The weekend is filled with meeting new people and exploring the new city with Mason.

By now he has several chat partners and Isaac is impressed by his sensitive coaching abilities, so Liam really feels quite content in his new life.  
Of course it is just then when a new disturbance arises - can't let him become to comfortable after all...  
The disturbance comes in form of an email that informs him about the restored chats the previous coach had deleted.

  
Curious, Liam clicks on the file and opens the first chat.

What he sees is like a cold shower.

This can't be possible.  
Liam stares. Blinks twice and then rubs his eyes. But the letters on the screen in front of him don't change.

The most recent deleted chat is between the consulter and ‘Eugene'.   
Aka himself. 

That means... Theo... is Theo. My Theo. Yep, that connection I could have seen faster...  
The familiarity... The parallels between the two boys that clearly aren’t coincidental...

He opens a second chat window.

~♤~

  
Theo stares at the blinking curser in the chat window. He can't believe that he really is about to do this, how fast he had become one of the people he worked with before.  
But hey, now that he has neither a job nor people to talk to at work, it turns out that he also has no friends and which place is better to talk about your problems than the one he knows inside and out?

Plus that Henry dude is nice enough, even if he seems to be pretty new in the coaching field. Talking a lot instead of letting the client talk, using expressive emojis and even a few curse words.   
Strangely Theo doesn't mind. It makes their conversation feel real.

Sadly Henry never answers during college time, and that's when Theo could use the company the most. Even the two guys who sat next to him at orientation don't talk much to him because not only do they have different classes but also, Theo can be very brusque on his bad days. There had been a lot of bad days lately.  
Even though Liam still smiles at him in the halls and greets him if they are closer, Theo doesn't really have anyone to talk to and where to go if not to a place literally called ‘TalkSpace'?

He opens up his chat and types.  
 **Don't mind me, I am just typing in this chat to look busy.**  
 **This is not an important message.**  
 **College sucks without friends.**  
 **I wish you would talk to me during the day.**

Thankfully the professor enters the room before Theo can spam his poor chat partner any further and so he puts away his phone. Time to actually do what he's here for.

~♤~

Henry feels familiar. It's comforting and unsettling at the same time and Theo doesn't know what to do about it.  
They've been talking to each other for a good month now and today there is something different about Henry, something Theo can't put his finger on. And because he has never been the type for subtlety, he asks.

**Hey, everything okay? You seem different today...**

Henry types for a few minutes, he either writes a whole paragraph or deletes his answer again.  
But then a new message finally pops up.

**I am okay. Just found something out and I can’t keep it to myself any longer. Please don't freak.**

Theo raises his eyebrows. Freak? Why would he freak?  
Just as he is about to ask that question another message comes through – a picture.  
It's a small, fluffy dog with neon pink floaties attached to his front legs.

**Theo?**

Henry – no, Eugene, asks.

**Are you still there?**   
**I am sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner. You disappeared without any warning and working here made me feel closer to you, somehow. When I saw your profile I just thought it was funny how you have the same name as my Theo. But now I know why talking to you felt so familiar at least.**

_My Theo._

  
Theo stares at the message before he reaches forward and flips shut his laptop. He is breathing heavily. Eugene is Henry. Henry is Eugene. He is here. He searched for him.   
More than ever Theo wishes that he had someone to talk to.

~♤~

  
Liam stares at the chat window but Theo doesn't come back online.   
Releasing a deep sigh, he types one last message.

**I just didn’t want to loose you again.**   
**Please. Let me explain.**   
**Come to the big statue on campus tomorrow at 6pm if you still want a friend.**

  
~♤~

  
It's 6:15 pm. 

  
Eugene isn't coming.

  
Theo really should have known. Why would he? Now that he knows how much of a freak he is. All those conversations, private informations and Eugene knew who he was the whole time. How could he have been so-

“Theo?”, a familiar voice rips through Theo's depressed thoughts and he looks up.

“Liam? What are you doing here?”

The blonde guy smiles and somehow that immediately makes Theo feel better.  
“I was supposed to meet someone here, but it seems they aren’t coming. Doesn’t matter though, now that I found you.”

“Oh really? And they didn't cancel? That sucks.”

Liam just shrugs, “no, he couldn't have. Doesn’t have my number. It's my fault anyway, I totally fucked this up. Which is a shame because I really like this guy...”, he trails off and clears his throat, “anyway, what are you doing here?”

“I am... waiting for someone. I think.” Theo uses his shoe to draw a pattern into the sand beneath their feet.  
“You too? Seems like we both got stood up then huh?”  
Theo laughs, “yeah...”  
“So... you want to go drink a coffee with me instead?”, Liam asks, “you don't have other plans, do you?”

He pulls out his phone, “just have to text Mason real quick, letting him know that I’m safe. He was a bit sceptical about me meeting up with a stranger from some chat, you know?”  
He starts typing but right then something in Theo's brain clicks.

“Liam?”  
“Hm?”  
Theo takes a deep breath.

  
“What do you think about dogs with floaties?”

Liam lifts his head so fast that Theo can almost hear the joints cracking.  
“No way...”, he whispers, his eyes wide open.

A nervous laugh escapes Theo's mouth, “yes way, apparently.”

“Oh my God!”, Liam exclaims loudly, “I can't believe it!”  
Then he abruptly throws his arms around Theo, “I found you, I really found you.”  
“Well, I've always been right there...”

Liam laughs, letting go of him again. “Now I really need that coffee.”

~♤~

Theo takes a sip of his peppermint tea while watching Liam over the cup. The other guy is still smiling at him, he hasn’t stopped once and so they are both sitting at this table, grinning like idiots while filling the other in on the parts of their story the other doesn't already know.

“Uhm... so, not to sound inquisitive but... what the hell is your real name?”, Theo rubs his beck while asking.

Liam chuckles and his blue eyes are full of light as he answers.   
“Actually, I never lied. My full name is Liam Eugene Henry Dunbar. Mum was very indecisive at my birth.”

“Well, Liam Eugene Henry Dunbar, it is a pleasure to finally meet you in person. Would you do me the honour of being my friend?”  
This is the boldest Theo has ever been but hey, this dude already knows all of his embarrassing secrets and he didn't run so far, there is no reason to not risk it.

Liam hums thoughtfully before he looks up from below his lashes, his ever present smile turning almost shy, “really? Friends? You know, I already have a few of those...“, he fully lifts his head, cheeks slightly blushing, “I was actually hoping we could be something more...”

And it's right then and there that Theo knows that this cheeky guy, with the bright smile and the impossible name, this guy will some day be the end of him.

  
Weirdly enough he doesn’t mind because it will be a beautiful one, as long as he can continue to look into those ocean blue eyes. 


End file.
